Beth, the same thing happened to my Zoe (shep/husky mix) in '09! We never knew it but she apparently had a tumor on/near the heart and it ruptured one morning. She went from perfectly fine that morning to being really sick by late morning. We rushed her to the vet's who did some Xrays and then sent us over to MedVet for further scans and evaluations....they sad it was a tumor that had ruptured and she had blood filling the sac around her heart...there was no treatment to be had. She was 8 and had - up to that point - been the healthiest in our pack. Like you, we were absolutely devastated.

We lost Huey (our last in the pack) Christmas weekend '15 and after having lost several dogs in what felt like too short of a time period...we opted to wait awhile before bringing in another dog. We now feel ready and are in the process finding our next fur-baby...working w/the group Mastiffs to Mutts. Our hopes are for an English Mastiff but we fall in love w/just about any giant so we are probably going to be open to any big lug that needs a new home and who can live peacefully w/our crazy kitties.

All your babies are super cute and your new girl...she has a very ornery glimmer in those eyes. Like our Huey (Newf) had...great dog, sweet as sweet could be...but full of ornery. Congrats to both you and Ysabelle on finding each other!

I love the big ones too, but the trade offs include relatively short lifespans. Bernese are real heartbreakerss in that regard. 8 healthy years for a Bernese is a blessing. I'm so happy I found my Anatolian Washington. He'll be 10 in Feb, but looks and acts half that age. Hopefully we'll get a couple more good years together.

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You are talking about hemangiosarcoma. Several vets have told me this is the commonest tumor in dogs. It begins deep inside the internal organs. Even if caught early, it would seldom be possible to remove, due to the location. It does not respond to chemotherapy.

Dogs don't show illness until it's very advanced. Many with this tumor first become symptomatic only hours or days before their death. My rescue dog Lilly died suddenly of this in April; she was very elderly, and the only sign something was wrong was that her appetite had not been good for some months - common in very elderly dogs.

Of the several hundred rescue dogs through my house in the last 20 years, about a dozen have died of this tumor. Many of my friends have also lost dogs to this, as well.

I love the big ones too, but the trade offs include relatively short lifespans. Bernese are real heartbreakerss in that regard. 8 healthy years for a Bernese is a blessing. I'm so happy I found my Anatolian Washington. He'll be 10 in Feb, but looks and acts half that age. Hopefully we'll get a couple more good years together.

Yes, it is a trade-off but one that we can't resist. We are just big dog people. A friend had an Anatolian years ago and he was an awesome dog.

Our Huey...we got lucky w/him. He had bone/joint problems all his life...including 2 surgeries for OCD lesions in his elbow and shoulder before he was a year old. Both his right shoulder and elbow had to be taken apart, scrapped down, and then rebuilt. He also had a mild case of hip dysplasia. As he aged his bone/joint issues became more obvious and were starting to affect his ability to get around so in '10 (when he was 8yrs) we started him on VOM (veterinary orthopedic manipulation - basically chiropractic) and Cold Laser therapy along w/some acupuncture and he would come home acting like a pup. No lie! We would head out to the appointments and he would be acting like an older dog but when he came back he was bounding around like a pup. We did those treatments monthly/bi-monthly until the end and we swear it's what kept him so mobile for so long. He lived to be almost 14 and for a Newf...everyone agrees...that is amazing. Especially for one that had the joint issues he had! The last 6 months though...even the vom and cold laser were not helping as much and the docs said we were at a point where...well, you get it. We said our goodbyes Christmas weekend and he would've been 14 on Jan 10. Still, to be almost 14 for a Newfie...amazing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by estación seca

You are talking about hemangiosarcoma. Several vets have told me this is the commonest tumor in dogs. It begins deep inside the internal organs. Even if caught early, it would seldom be possible to remove, due to the location. It does not respond to chemotherapy.

Dogs don't show illness until it's very advanced. Many with this tumor first become symptomatic only hours or days before their death. My rescue dog Lilly died suddenly of this in April; she was very elderly, and the only sign something was wrong was that her appetite had not been good for some months - common in very elderly dogs.

Of the several hundred rescue dogs through my house in the last 20 years, about a dozen have died of this tumor. Many of my friends have also lost dogs to this, as well.

I had no idea it was so common! We've lost most of our big guys to cancers/tumors...all but Huey. Zoe was the only one w/that kind of tumor and the docs never told us it was so common. Interesting. Sad, but interesting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

So sad. With cats, it seems to be kidney failure.

Yep and we've lost our share to this very problem too.

EDIT - correction...we started the VOM/cold laser/acupuncture in '09, not '10 so he was 7 when we started the treatments. Thinking about it...it was just after Zoe died and we had just recently rescued Sevy (black russian terrier) so it would've been sometime around Nov that year. Either way...I highly recommend it to anyone who is having a dog with mobility issues.

I have been getting to see an Anatolian almost every morning. He and his sheep have been coming up to the fence right behind our house. I go out on the deck as my dogs are usually barking at him and he at them. Then he just walks and the sheep move out. Cool to watch.

I can't let Richter out until the sheep are gone as he would kill them. Bad dog!